Colorado has been getting some crazy weather lately!See those specks? That’s cottonwood, embarking on an allergy-infested journey from the trees into people’s sinuses.Crazy gushers have been rampant, followed by plenty of hail and booming thunder.And then God apologizes and sends us sunsets like this. Love it. Love all the craziness, hail included.For all those moments when we were stuck inside, avoiding the drenching, piercing rains, this box came to the rescue.So pretty!They’re always saying you should add some color to your diet.My favorites from the box were the Chico King pale and Double Latte stout. Luckily, I have plenty of craft beer nerd friends who were willing to split some bottles with me. These are all pretty hefty beers and they definitely needed to be shared.For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I got a pressure cooker as a housewarming gift! All those beers in a box + people who want to share said beers + a new pressure cooker = vegan split pea COOKOFF and beer tasting!(Spoiler alert – mine was too thick, Janna’s was too thin so we ended up blending them together and the ending result was AWESOME!) We spent the evening sipping, stirring, laughing and playing with puppies.My handsome fella joined us for the cook-off and a sleepover. Augh, that face! I love my rescue puppy!

Anyway back to the pressure cooker…It’s led to crazy things like me making more artichokes. Despite the first debacle, I’ve become obsessed with artichokes. Unhealthily obsessed.The ridiculous amount of chokes and vegan things I was creating in my pressure cooker left me craving something a wee bit more substantial. I was sitting on my couch with the pup and got an insane, desperate need to make short ribs. And there definitely needed to be beer in that recipe.Stout, to be specific.I seared off three pounds of these babies, threw a bunch of beer, vinegars, sugars and spices into the pressure cooker, shut the lid and prayed.To add a little health factor, I rested the short ribs on a smoky cauliflower mash. All the carnivores in the house adored this recipe. J’adore.